Allyson Billeaud

Ms. Allyson Marie Billeaud was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with the highest honors and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in History. Then, Ms. Billeaud attended the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor and Concentrations in Criminal Justice and Human Rights Law.

Ms. Billeaud’s interest in criminal justice accelerated during law school. She spent two years analyzing America’s retention of the death penalty and the systemic injustices within the criminal institution. In 2016, her article was published in the Journal of Race, Gender, & Poverty. Moreover, she was awarded with a Human Rights Fellowship with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which was located in Arusha, Tanzania. Much of her work clarified fair trial rights for Rwandan judges and articulated why perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes are entitled to the same legal rights depending on state, regional, and international jurisprudence.

After graduation, Ms. Billeaud returned to New Orleans and clerked for Judge Laurie A. White at the Orleans Parish Criminal Court. She assisted with post-conviction relief requests, motions, and the Re-Entry Program. Ms. Billeaud’s experience with post-conviction led to a position with a well-known Lafayette area law firm, where she provided the legal analysis for the actual innocence claim in the Motion for New Trial.

Ms. Billeaud was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar in May 2017. She is also a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the New Orleans Bar Association.